This afternoon I watched BLACK WIDOW. No, not the version with Debra Winger. This was the 1954 version with Ginger Rogers, Van Heflin, Gene Tierney, and Reginald Gardiner.
I had never seen this movie before, and in order to see it today, I had to break one of my cardinal rules about not watching pan and scan versions of films. BLACK WIDOW was an early Cinemascope Fox feature, but the version off the Fox Movie Channels was P&S, and, of course, it was wretched looking. Loping off 40% of the frame and blowing what was left up to fit a 4:3 frame does dreadful things to focus, color, and sharpness. But, I wanted to see this movie after all these years, so I suffered through it.
As a mystery it's pretty predictable, and one wonders what someone like Alfred Hitchcock could have done with this "wrong man accused" scenario. Still, I'm glad I saw it. It's definitely Van Heflin's show. Ginger Rogers may have top billing, but she has little better than a supporting role in the movie.